What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Isopropyl Palmitate
Emollient
Cocoglycerides
Emollient
Cetyl Alcohol
Emollient
Avena Sativa Kernel Flour
Abrasive
Dimethicone
Emollient
Zea Mays Starch
Absorbent
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
PEG-100 Stearate
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Avena Sativa Kernel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hydroxide
BufferingDisodium EDTA
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingAvena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cocoglycerides, Cetyl Alcohol, Avena Sativa Kernel Flour, Dimethicone, Zea Mays Starch, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Avena Sativa Seed Water
Solvent
Glycerin
Humectant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Avena Sativa Kernel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Glyceryl Stearate
Emollient
Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate
Emulsifying
Water
Skin ConditioningStearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingArginine
Masking
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningAvena Sativa Kernel Flour
Abrasive
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.Â
It is a:
- Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin
- Emollient, helping to soften skin
- Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas
- Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservativesÂ
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract is is derived from colloidal oatmeal. Besides being a healthy breakfast, oats have many benefits in skincare too.
This ingredient helps sooth, hydrate, and protect the skin. The starches in colloidal oatmeal are able to bind water, keeping the skin hydrated.
The cellulose and fiber in colloidal oatmeal help reduce inflammation. This can also help the skin feel softer.
Colloidal Oatmeal is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect our skin from free-radical damage.
Oatmeal also contains beneficial compounds:
This ingredient is created by mixing grounded oatmeal and a liquid base.
Learn more about Avena Sativa Kernel ExtractOatmeal flour is created by grinding down the kernels of oats. Oatmeal helps sooth, hydrate, and protect the skin.
Oatmeal kernel flour has abrasive, or exfoliating, properties.
Learn all about the skin benefits of colloidal oatmeal here.
Learn more about Avena Sativa Kernel FlourThis ingredient is also known as oat kernel oil. It's an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is great for barrier support, hydrating skin, and calming irritation.
The fatty acid profile is dominated by linoleic acid (~22.8-43.1%), oleic acid (~31.4-51.3%), and palmitic acid (~13.9-18.8%).
Plus, it contains ceramides, phytosterols, phospholipids, vitamin E, and avenanthramides (oat's signature anti-inflammatory polyphenols).
One study found an oat lipid extract applied to human skin cells switched on receptors that tell skin cells to mature properly and make more barrier lipids (including a 70% boost in ceramides).
Basically, oat kernel oil doesn't just sit on top of skin, it nudges your skin to build more its of its own barrier.
Typical usage levels range from 1-10%.
Note: This ingredient may not be fungal acne safe due to the fatty acids present.
Learn more about Avena Sativa Kernel OilCarbomer is a high-molecular weight polymer of acrylic acid. It is used to form gels and thicken formulas.
Due to its large molecular size, carbomer has minimal skin penetration and is considered an inert ingredient.
A high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Don't worry, most products contain 1% or less of carbomer.
Learn more about CarbomerGlycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinGlyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.
Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.
This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.
Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.
Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.
Learn more about Glyceryl StearateWater. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.
So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.
You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!
Learn more about Water
